Happy Me!

I’m going to stray from scripture study helps and strategies for living in truth for a moment. You see, 42 years ago today my husband asked me to marry him. 42 years!! Wow! Who could have guessed how many wonderful and horrid things would happen in 42 years? But, together, we’ve made it though—so far.

We’ve lost one child. We’ve sweated through sleepless nights waiting for the other nine children to outgrow the teen years. We’ve argued our way into the wee hours of the night and the next day realized how stupid we were. We’ve worked together until not just our muscles but our bones ached. We’ve nursed each other through trauma, sickness, and disappointment. And we’ve grumbled and murmured about each other’s faults.

But we’ve healed in each other’s tears. We’ve taught each other things no one else could teach us. We’ve prayed together until our hearts seemed one. We’ve laughed together until our sides hurt. We’ve adopted likes and dislikes from each other—and learned that it doesn’t matter if some of those likes and dislikes are never adopted. We’ve learned patience from each other’s failing. We’ve grown to know what the other is thinking before he or she says it. We’ve rejoiced and delighted in the same children and grandchildren. And despite the fact that we are two very different personalities, we’ve managed to love each other through it all.